Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Give Cheeks a Chance

A preview: I am now officially working with Help a Mother Out, slowly but surely creating a Los Angeles area presence. Why? Because their simple model - point, click, help - makes it easy for you to make a difference in a baby's life from the comfort of your desk chair.

We're doing a Back to School drive for diapers, new socks, and new underwear for homeless and needy children. I have no idea what I'm doing*. But while I'm learning on the job, butts are being saved from diaper rash and related side effects.

I can't do everything, but I can do something. Stay tuned for more as we get closer to school time. (You're probably going to get sick of hearing about it, actually.)


*A classic case of KTP hyperbole, that's not exactly true. I've produced and directed television shows, for God's sake. That tens of people have watched. I can throw a party that raises money, diapers, and cotton underthings for homeless children. Right? The thing is, for those television shows, someone was paying me, and I had a budget. This? Neither of those things are true. I'm going to need help and a budget of love. Just putting it out there, universe.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Regularly Scheduled Kid Programming


Despite the twin crippling effects of my bad back and my slow computer, the 4th of July came and went. I managed to drag myself out with the boyz to a block party in a friend's neighborhood, and since I sat poolside, I got this rare photo of them swimming. Brady has taken to the water without fear, even jumping in with nobody waiting to catch him. Kyle still doesn't like to put his face in the water.

Also please note Kyle's haircut. Stewart did it himself with the new razor he got for his birthday. Better than blowing $15 at the barber shop every four weeks!

Antics in the Houses continue as expected. No to remains unbroken or intact in any way. Solar system drawings, paintings, and models proliferate and decorate our walls. Laundry mounts. Business as usual.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Pink Jade Earrings

"Though the bead seems divided, it has always been one and whole."

I've been wanting to post about these earrings for a while. Now seems like the right time.

They came from a shop on Etsy. The artisan is a young woman in Canada who is studying German. We follow each other on Twitter, and one fateful day she linked to a picture of her newest creation. It seemed like fate. I was smitten.

The woman has since shuttered the virtual doors of her Etsy shop, ostensibly to save her energy to rediscover her muse. There is hope of her return, however. Her designs are wonderful, evocative, and affordable, too. I love my earrings, and I think of fine things when I wear them. I would drape myself in such jewelry if I could, if all adornments had so much intention and love behind them.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Seven



2002

Tomorrow is my seventh wedding anniversary.

Amid reports of new divorce filings - by friends, friends of friends, and celebrities, who, while not friends, exactly, take up more space in my conscious brain than they should - my husband and I will pass through this milestone in much the same way that we pass through any other Monday. We'll wake up to the toddler's screeching cry of "DADDY!" and we'll stumble to the coffee pot, seeking black liquid strength to jump start the morning chaos. We'll take the kids to daycare, we'll sit in traffic, we'll go to work. Once home again, we will perform the morning rituals in reverse, perhaps taking a moment or two to mark the occasion before collapsing, exhausted, into blessed sleep.

That's marriage, isn't it? If nothing else, it's the collection of so many of those regular, hectic, bickery, Monday days, each with its own small miracle: that we have gotten this far, and still wish to proceed. I look back on the seven years since our wedding day. How vast the expanse of days seems, stretched out behind us like the cathedral train of a wedding gown, demarcated by the moment we became parents together for the first time, 2 years into our marriage. We're tired now. Older, with children and their limbs and catapults vying for our attention, dragging us away from each other even as they knit us further together. Time moves more slowly as it happens, yet seems to speed up when we turn to watch it unfurl behind us.

A few weeks ago I had lunch with a colleague whom I had not seen in years. His first news: I am getting divorced. I felt the announcement like a blow to the sternum. His family makeup is similar to ours - same career structure, age of children, etc. I probed him for the reason. We just weren't making each other happy, he said.

Is that the measure of a marriage? That we make each other happy? Humans, as mercurial, water-based creatures, can't be happy every second. What, then, is the percentage of unhappy that tips the balance to talk of divorce?

None of this is to attack divorce. I realize that for many people, they are much happier - there's that word again - after the smoke has cleared around them and the paperwork has been filed away. But then there are the wayward souls like my friend J., who ended his marriage during its first test. Years later, he wanders alone, wondering if he made an enormous mistake.

Of course, although we're paired after we take the vows, we're still among billions of humans who are unlike any other two people. And so I believe in the idea that in any marriage, we must do what works for us, there is no "right" way. If I take it personally when my friends' marriages falter, so do countless others when celebrities and politicians suffer the same fate. The stuff of scandal allows us, the audience, to stand in judgement, or solidarity. But look within. Is your marriage any better? Is your conscience? If so, congratulations. If not, welcome to the playground.

I look over at my husband sprawled over an armchair, falling asleep while watching the Science Channel. At least, tonight, it's not Fox News. I am overcome with affection for this man who has walked through life as my partner for the surprisingly gone seven years. The difficulties we have both had to withstand might be behind us, or ahead of us still. For this moment, I am comforted by what we have accomplished. Mentally, I fortify the shelter around us, knowing that chance can blow a storm over our house, too. Let the seven years behind give us strength to forge ahead.

2009

This will be cross posted at LA Moms Blog.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Not Just an Exercise Mat - Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for the G2 Stretch Mat. Elise's comment was chosen by randomizer.org from 58 qualifying entries. The original post can be found on my brand-spanking-new review blog, Stuff of Prince. What can I say, it was inevitable.

I'm leaving the cute family pictures here, though.









I also want to thank Girl Get Strong for partnering with me during this promotion. I hope it's the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

I'm a Girl in Tech


Someone asked me the other day "Why aren't you a PR rep or an agent?" I told her that it was a good question, and I am still thinking about it 24 hours later, because shortly before she asked me, in an email to another woman, I had written the sentence "I think of myself as a connector."

The truth is, I was turned off by meeting so many bitchy PR reps I met in the film industry in the 90's. They came in one variety: cute, bitchy, and in a wardrobe of black pantsuits with cobalt blue blouses. The nice ones who were fun to work with were few and far between, a scarcity which gave me a lasting impression of their kind.

Fast forward to now, and I've met lots of fantastic PR reps and marketing execs in my role as a blogger. As a television producer with more experience on my resume and more years on my body, I'm older and wiser than half the new reps I meet in that field. There's no need for bitchiness. I don't even notice it anymore.

Is it because I'm a mom now? In some cases, yes. Mommy bloggers, as you've heard by now (yawn) are The Target Market. However, I like things that appeal to demographics that include more types of people than only moms. Music, clothing, fitness equipment, cars, food. And the people who read this blog are not all mothers (or fathers, for that matter).

In other cases, I'll never know because my identity as a mother is now inextricably part of me. My online activity, though it started when I became a mother, is now a big joy for me. I love finding ideas and activities and people that are interesting, fun, and worthwhile. And when one relates to another and I make a connection for someone, I can almost hear a little *ding!* Imagine getting paid for that. On the other hand, if it was work, would it be as awesome?

Right now I'll talk about it for company and cocktails. We'll see what happens.

RSVP to Girls in Tech LA "Marketing to Moms" at my favorite gay bar.

Monday, June 22, 2009

House of Prince at Los Angeles Film Festival!

Click to enlarge image.

The short film in which I participated was chosen to be screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival! There are nine finalists for the "LA In Short" competition - I don't know what the prize is, but I think it's a pony, and I really want to win.* Winner is chosen by audience vote. Please come out to Westwood - yes, I am asking you to brave the traffic, the parking, and other pedestrians on the walk from the car to the venue, but it's for a good cause! A pony! Also, you might feel like you're immersing yourself in urban counterculture for an evening, and won't that make you feel young again?

If you tweet, please tweet this link. [ http://tinyurl.com/nxva5l ] If you stumble, please stumble. If you (insert social media sharing verb), please (insert social media sharing verb).

Many thanks.

*There's probably no pony. This is just wishful thinking. Plus, if the film wins, the actual winner is Alexis Godschalk, because he did all the work. I just get the 90 seconds of camera time.

Get your name on the list by emailing rsvp@latimes.com or calling 213.237.2002 by Wednesday, June 24.

Friday, June 26, 2009

9 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Los Angeles Film Festival
ZonePerfect live.create.lounge
1028 Westwood Blvd.
(between Kinross and Weyburn)
Westwood, CA 90024


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